


Three Fates

by WhiteRosewithThorns



Category: The Cousins' War Series - Philippa Gregory, The White Princess (TV)
Genre: Erotica, F/M, Fantasy, Historical Inaccuracy, Uncle/Niece Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-05 21:25:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10317287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteRosewithThorns/pseuds/WhiteRosewithThorns
Summary: Elizabeth of York fell in love with the dark eyed King. Her love was real and she would do everything to pursue it. She wanted to be with him, even if it's just one night.But in the War of Roses there is no place for love; it's dangerous to love a King.Was Richard manipulating her? Or was it only lust? Or did he fall in love with her too?Three one-shots on fate of Elizabeth had Richard won the Battle of Bosworth.





	1. Broken Heart

Tudor had lost.

Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile. Convinced that it was Tudor and his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort who killed her brother Edward, she was more than happy to hear that Henry Tudor was killed in battle and his mother forever under house arrest with her properties seized.

In her heart, however, she was waiting for Richard. Soon, she would be the new Queen of England. House of York would be united again and she would marry the man she loves.

Yet, to her disappointment, Richard had not come to see her or summon her since his return from the battlefield. She did asked to see him, but was told that the King is very busy. She waited and waited, until one day she was informed that the King will have her married to King Manuel of Portugal.

Her heart sank.

No....it can’t be.

After losing her father and brother, Elizabeth didn’t want to be sent away. She wanted to be with Richard.

“Elizabeth,” her mother the Woodville Queen approached her.

“No!” Elizabeth shoved her away. “Stay away from me! Don’t touch me!”

She ran away from her mother and bolted her chamber’s door. She fell onto the ground and wept.

+++

The King was ready for bed. He dismissed his servants so that he could be alone. He had negotiated double marriage with Portugal. Elizabeth would be married to Manuel and he would wed Joanna of Portugal. Given that the Portuguese princes was a Lancastrian descendant, this double marriage would unite the House of Lancaster and York. He thought about Elizabeth and then concluded that it’d be the best to send her away.

He did tell Anne that he only acted as if he were interested in her for the sake of defeating Tudor. He was, or was he? After Anne died, he had not bedded anyone. He was King of England but he was also a man. When he and Anne were together, their intimacy was sweet and on-going. After their son died, their intimacy turned rough as if he wanted to fill her with his seed so that they could conceive another child. The intimacy ended after Anne was dying from consumption. Though he had showed favor over Elizabeth, he never touched her.

The girl was convinced that he is in love with her. Rumors had it that he was so infatuated with Elizabeth that he had Anne poisoned. That was not true, but Elizabeth believed that she will be his wife and really wanted to be. In war and politics, there is no love, Richard told himself. When he married Anne, he did love her but her inheritance and alliance to the North were part of the reason too. Only fools would marry for love.

Like his brother Edward, who was bewitched by the Woodville woman.

That siren and witch....believed that he would fall for her siren daughter.

“Why are you sending me away?” 

Richard turned and saw Elizabeth standing not too far away from him.

“Please, let me say what I need to say, then I’ll go,” Elizabeth insisted. “When I returned to the court, you treated me very well. I fell in love with you and my love for you is true. Even if you were a pauper, I’d still want to be with you. Lady Margaret told me that you were only playing me, is it true then?”

“I showed you favors because I need to let England know that I did not harm your brother,” Richard explained coldly. “I need to have the House of York united against Tudor.”

“That is not true,” Elizabeth refused to believe him. “Your eyes can’t lie. You desire me as much as I desire you. Don’t deny your feelings.”

“Marriage has nothing to do with love,” Richard told her. “When you come close to the throne, there is a price to pay.”

“If you sent me away, there is a price to pay as well,” she said. “Trust me, Richard. Let me stay. Let me be your queen. It’d be safer for you.”

Looking at her, Richard suspected that she knows something. After all, her mother had been a master of scheming. 

“You can make me safe,” he said. “How?”

His dark eyes met hers. “Let me stay,” she whispered. “Let me love you.”

“Do you know what is it like to bed a King?”

“No,” she replied. “But I am in love with one.”

Her lips came closer to his. 

He did not kiss her. Instead, he let her face pressed against his while unlacing her dress. He stripped her down to her waist and removed his shirt.  

He held her from behind. She moaned when he fondled her young, firm breasts.  _Let him_ , she thought. _My heart, body, and soul are all his. Whatever he wants from me, I will give it._

His hand slipped down to her navel and underneath her shift. Elizabeth groaned when he inserted his finger into her. He did not pull his finger out despite her obvious discomfort. He waited for her to adjust, added more fingers, and inserted deeper.

“Tell me, is this how you can make me safe?” He asked. “You can’t lie to me, Elizabeth, if you were to be my queen.”

“I will be your queen,” she said. “And our son will be King after you.”

“Really?” He questioned, pinching her. “How will I know that our son be safe? What can you shield me against?”

He was by no means gentle. Still, she wanted to be his queen and his lover, very much. 

“In my arms is my future queen or an enemy?” He pressed.

Stroking his arms, she pulled his hands away and said gently, “My mother holds no grudge against you,” she told him. “We are just women who are helpless and need your protection. We must stay together...or England will be plagued by war again...”

She whispered the rest into his ear. 

“But if I were your queen, he will not rebel.” She buried her face into his chest. 

+++

The King was showering her attention again. Jewels, silk, wines...they came endlessly. Elizabeth did feel agitated after she told Richard about her brother Richard being alive and hidden. But then again, if she were his queen and mother to his son, it would be unlikely that Richard would harm her brother.

One night, the King summoned her. He had two goblets and filled them with wine.

“Is it true, that your brother George was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine?” She asked.

“No,” Richard shook his head. “He was executed in the Tower. His death was a reward to your mother but a loss to me.”

“Richard, we both have lost,” Elizabeth said. “I lost my father and a brother. You suffered far more losses than me. But my worst fear is to lose you. Together, we will rule England and make House of York strong again.”

“You will be queen,” Richard told her. 

“Can you make me yours tonight?” She asked. “We will be married after all.”

“No, your maidenhead will be taken on your wedding night,” he insisted. “You are a King’s daughter.”

He handed her a goblet of wine and raised his, “Drink, to the new queen.”

She complied without a hesitation. “Elizabeth, queen of...”

And everything became blurry. 

+++

When she came to, she found herself in a litter. To her shock she was escorted on a ship and was on her way to Portugal. 

She married Manuel, and came to his bed a virgin. Soon, she fell pregnant. The night before her confinement, she received a letter; it was from Richard.

_To Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal,_

_I am gravely to inform you that your brother Richard was beheaded in a private execution in the Tower. After your departure, I seized him out from the sanctuary and had him confined in the Tower. I have no regret, because as King I have to do what I have to do - just like when your father executed my brother George._

_I have loved only once and it was Anne. I will never love again. Be satisfied that you are married for duty and for the sake of England. _It is dangerous to love a King.__

She threw away the letter and wept. 

She died from child bed fever soon after she gave birth to a son, who only lived a few days. When her heart was embalmed, it was found broken.


	2. Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: a sequel to "Loyaltie Me Lie" by the talented Avalonmedieval

In a light green gown, Elizabeth waited to receive the King with her mother and her siblings. They all anticipated that Richard would make her his new wife. Elizabeth had a secret though. She did not tell anyone about the night she spent with Richard. Carefully, she smoothed the folds of her gown.

Before eyes of many, she tried to act as natural as possible. 

Finally, after a wait too long and too short, the King arrived. The Woodville Queen urged Elizabeth to come forward. She and her other daughters bowed as Elizabeth went to him. Suddenly, she fell onto her knees as if she were to kiss his feet. Richard pulled her up and embraced her. Holding back her tears, Elizabeth reminisced their night together before the battle. She could still smell his sweat and feel his breath on her skin.

+++

Richard had treated them well, but to Elizabeth’s agitation, he did not mention anything about marrying her. She still remained at her mother’s manor. The Woodville Queen may or may not known her secret, but even if she did, she never said a word.

After much waiting, Richard came to pay them a visit. He exchanged a few words with the Woodville Queen while his eyes remained on Elizabeth. He invited her to take a walk with him. Watching from the window, the Woodville Queen found the scene very similar to how she met her husband the late King Edward.  

“You don’t look well, Elizabeth,” Richard remarked. “Is there anywhere you can rest?”

“There’s a hunting lodge nearby,” Elizabeth replied. 

They went to the hunting lodge and bolted the door. 

Elizabeth went to him and kissed him passionately. Swiftly, she removed his doublet and shirt. He was tearing her lace while kissing her nape. Before he could undress her, she stopped him. 

She wasn’t ready to tell him yet, despite she had long waited for his moment.

“What is it?” He asked, sensing that she had something to tell him.

Silently, she shed off her dress, leaving herself in her shift. Unlike their first time at the tent, she wasn’t a blushing virgin. She had him lying on his back and unlaced his breeches. Carefully, she straddled him and tugged her shift over her head. She took his hands and placed them against her belly, where he could feel a small bump. 

Feeling his manhood inside her, Elizabeth recalled that night before the final battle. She went to his tent because of her burning desire for him and because she would not want to give her virginity to Tudor. She wanted Richard, even if he were to die in battle a part of him will always be within her.

And that night, after he took her virginity and filled her with his seeds.

And the seeds blossomed in her womb. 

She was pregnant with his child.

He rubbed her belly as she rode him and rose to kiss her. She embraced him and kissed him face and then his hair. 

+++

“Can you feel anything?” Elizabeth asked, resting next to him. “It’s your heir.”

Richard was very quiet, as if he had something else on his mind. He sat up and said, “I cannot marry you, Elizabeth.”

“What?” She rose, couldn't believe her ears.

“I have already negotiated a marriage with Portugal,” Richard told her. “Before you came to my tent, I have already announced to the Parliament that I never have any intention to wed you. I never thought you’d come to my tent that night, nor did I ever intended to love you.”

_Neither did he expect that he would win this war._

“But you do, and you are with me now,” Elizabeth said helplessly. “I am carrying your child, Richard. All we need is dispensation from Rome. Our marriage will unite York affinities-.”

“Joanna of Portugal is a Lancastrian descendant,” Richard said. “I need to unite York and Lancaster.”

After a long and painful silence, Elizabeth covered herself and said bitterly, “You are the King and thus everything has to be decided by you. However you like to arrange, I will not disobey for I am your loyal and humble servant, always.”

“Forgive me, Elizabeth,” he said. “I am a King, not a lover.”

She took his hand and kissed it again and again. 

+++

He walked her back to the manor, where Elizabeth found a litter with valets and guards. 

“They will take you to Fotheringhay,” he told her, caressing her cheek. “It will be good for your condition. You will be under the care of my lady mother.”

He walked away without turning back. A cloak was placed on Elizabeth’s shoulders. 

“Richard!” She called out. “Your majesty!”

With no other choice, she climbed into the litter.

+++

At Fotheringhay Castle, Elizabeth was confined in a quarter. Duchess Cecily did not visit, for she still held grudge against the Woodville Queen for the death of her favorite son George. Elizabeth was more or less a bastard child of her foolish son Edward and that Lancastrian commoner. Like mother, like daughter, Elizabeth was too pregnant with a bastard child. The old duchess never asked who the father is. She ordered her servants to keep Elizabeth out of her sight.

In a stormy night, Elizabeth gave birth to a boy. Richard never wrote or paid her any visit until ten years later, when Duchess Cecily passed away. By then, Richard was already married to Joanna of Portugal who had yet given him any heir. During these ten years of confinement, Elizabeth was not aware of the tragic fate of her mother and siblings. She referred her son as “Prince Richard,” hinting his parentage. After visiting Elizabeth and her son, Richard ordered their confinement to continue. He even informed the servants that ‘ _it’d be the best not to speak to Lady Elizabeth for nothing good will come out of it_.’ He strictly forbidden Elizabeth or anyone to refer her son as “prince” under the threat of beating and starvation. 

He never acknowledged her son as his. The boy vanished from historical record and no one knew where or when he died. 

Elizabeth eventually died alone in the castle. Her name was forbidden to mention in court. Later, years after Richard III’s decease, she was depicted in drama as a siren who practiced witchcraft and sired a son by the devil. But it was forgotten that once she was a King’s daughter, a King’s sister, and a King’s niece. 

And a King’s lover.


	3. Vengeance

She rode to his tent in the middle of the night with documents and letters secured under her cloak. She was her parents’ daughter. Her father was a warrior king and her mother was a woman with high intelligence and bravery. She had her heart set on defeating Henry Tudor.

That illegitimate Lancastrian descendant will never sit on the English throne or have her body, she silently vowed at heart. _He and his mother shall pay for what they did to my brothers._  

She dismounted her horse and slipped into the tent.

“Richard,” she greeted.

He was surprised to see her here.

“Wait, let me say what I need to say,” Lizzie told him as she retrieved a bundle of letters and documents. “I am here to help you. You cannot trust Stanley. He’s betraying you. He is married to Lady Margaret and she has escaped from his custody. She is with her son now.”

She handed him the letters. 

“I have the evidence,” she continued. “You must be aware of Stanley, or you will lose this battle.”

“I have Stanley’s son.”

“Stanley has other sons, sire,” Lizzie said to him. “Don’t trust him. He will help Tudor, for it’s more for him to gain as stepfather to the new king.”

“And what is there for you to gain from helping me?” He asked with a harsh light in his eyes. 

“I don’t want to marry Tudor,” Lizzie replied. “I cannot bear Lady Margaret. I know it isn’t you who harmed my brothers.” She looked down and said, “I heard rumors...that you will marry soon after you win. You will have a new queen.”

“Who told you that?”

“Is it true? Can you tell me who are you marrying?” She touched his face. “I am a York princess, Richard. By marrying me, you will unite York affinities. Lady Anne spoke highly of me too. I’m sure she would want you to be happy.”

He grabbed her wrist when she mentioned Anne’s name.

Lizzie looked at him and waited for him to say something.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers and captured her lips. She kissed him back. The tent was bright with candle lights. He removed his gloves and slipped his hand under her cloak to trace her full cleavage. 

“After I win the war, I will reward you,” he muttered.

“I am willing to wait,” she whispered. “My love.”

She kissed him again and left the tent. 

Richard went through the letters before he viewed another document. He silently burned it with candle light.

_Perhaps each one of us is alone._

He had said this once before.

+++

The battle was over.

Henry Tudor was killed in the battle. Stanley and Lady Margaret were thrown into the tower. Lizzie joyously embraced her mother and sisters. 

They won.

“Lizzie, go to the King,” her mother told her.

It was her day.

They had waited for this day for too long.

Lizzie uneasily looked at her mother, but her anxiousness disappeared when her sister Cecily curtsied. 

Yes, she told herself. I am to be the new queen. I marry for York and for love.

+++

She was taken to the Tower of London. A slight chill came to her heart, knowing this was where her brothers met their end. Quickly, her mind went elsewhere after she was brought to a chamber.

The door closed behind her. 

She saw a four poster bed. She played with the bed curtain and wondered what is going to happen next.

“Elizabeth.”

She turned and found Richard standing not too far from her. He bolted the door and threw his doublet aside.

“Richard,” she went to him and interlaced her fingers with his. Kissing his regal ring, she pleaded, “Now my love, we have won. Make me your queen. Let us start our dynasty.”

His regal ring rubbed against her sapphire ring.

He responded with a kiss.

“Undress,” he said.

She began to shed her dress. Slowly, she pulled down the strap of her shift and slipped it off. She covered her breast and her triangular red hair between her legs. But then, she dropped her arms and allowed him to lay her onto the bed.

He pulled her legs apart and initiated a trial of kiss from her neck down to her hip. Lizzie breathed heavily and her body moved and twisted in response to his touches. 

He unlaced his breeches and spread her legs wider. She cried out when he impaled his hard manhood into her. Her cries only motivated to thrust deeper and harder. He even held up her leg so that he could penetrate further. Lizzie could feel her entire body jiggling.

“No...” she panted, tried to struggle out of his arms. 

It was too much for her.

But Richard held her down. He only withdrew to turn her and entering from behind.

Lizzie closed her eyes, wanting this to be over. 

Finally, he stopped and pulled her up against him. He took her shift and wrapped it around her neck. Pulling from both ends, he watched as Lizzie gasped for air. 

Looking at the blood stain on the bed, he whispered, “The red stain on the white sheet...does it remind you of anything? Like when Anne choked on her blood after you feed her poison?”

Lizzie froze.

His grip around her neck became tighter.

“Your mother would sacrifice anything for power,” he said hatefully. “You and your mother and sister poisoned Anne so that you can be queen. You not only killed her, but you also killed the child she carried - my child and my heir!”

His accusation was true.

After the death of Richard’s son, Lizzie noticed how Lady Anne became weaker and paler. Her mother convinced her to take this opportunity to act. After all, no one would’ve be surprised that an ill and frail woman died not too long after losing her only child.

She did what she did not because she wanted to be queen but that she wanted to be with Richard. She knew that as long as Lady Anne lived, she will have no chance with Richard. 

Little could she ever guessed that Lady Anne wasn’t ill but was with child again.

Alas, she was a murderer of two lives.

_Oh, have mercy on me!_

She heard a crack and everything went black.

Silently, Richard released her and threw her body onto the cold ground. He left her as she was - dead and eyes wide-open - but not before he removed the sapphire ring from her hand.

That ring belonged to Anne. 

+++

By the King’s secret order, Lizzie’s naked body was dumped in a cart and buried in a shallow, unmarked grave without a coffin or a ceremony. Her mother and sister Cecily were under arrest for the murder of Lady Anne. Both were sentenced life in prison and their lands confiscated. They were locked underground with their heads shaven.

Before the Parliament, Richard announced that Elizabeth Woodville practiced witchcraft and bewitched the late King Edward; and that he never had any intention to wed Elizabeth of York. Lizzie’s death was ruled as an accident - her official reason of death was that she broke her neck after falling off the bed. 

He had no regret from killing Lizzie. It wasn’t just for vengeance. Elizabeth Woodville had caused enough internal conflicts for York and England. Lizzie was just as bewitching like her mother. A siren. As long as she lives, she would forever be a weapon and a pawn of her mother’s schemes. He would not risk to let this to continue under his reign.

He quietly wedded Joanna of Portugal, a demure and pious woman, and named his nephew John de la Pole as heir.


End file.
